strategic-compact

name	strategic-compact
description	Context compaction strategy for long sessions
argument-hint	<current-session-state>
user-invocable	false

Strategic Compact

When to Compact

• After completing a plan phase (before starting implementation)
• After completing implementation (before starting review)
• When context window is > 60% full
• After a /clear or major topic shift
• Before delegating to a subagent (they get fresh context anyway)

Pre-Compaction Checklist

Before running /compact, ensure:

1. Current phase and progress are recorded in artifacts/memory/activeContext.md
2. The most recent plan is saved to artifacts/plans/
3. Open questions and blockers are noted
4. Verification results are logged

The PreCompact hook (hooks/scripts/pre-compact.js) handles this automatically.

Compaction Strategy

When compacting, prioritize retaining:

1. Current objective — What are we doing and why
2. Phase progress — Where are we in the plan
3. Last 3 decisions — Recent context that shapes next steps
4. Open questions — Unresolved items needing attention
5. File paths — What files are in play

Deprioritize:

• Detailed code snippets already written to files
• Exploration results that led to dead ends
• Verbose tool outputs that have been summarized

Post-Compaction Recovery

The PostCompact hook restores state from artifacts/memory/activeContext.md. After compaction:

1. Verify the state tracking block is intact
2. Confirm you know the current phase and next action
3. If state is unclear, read activeContext.md explicitly

Environment Variables

• CLAUDE_AUTOCOMPACT_PCT_OVERRIDE=50 — Compact earlier (default: 80%)
• Set in .claude/settings.json → env or via CLI